Closing The Distance Between
by Dragon'sHost
Summary: Cobra felt something for the blonde Celestial Mage of Fairy Tail. So did Erik. They probably shouldn't, but all they really wanted was the freedom to approach her, and close the distance between them.


**This was done as part of a prompt challenge from Eien ni Touko on Tumblr. It was supposed to be a mini-fic but… somewhere along the way it morphed into this ten page, four thousand word plus monstrosity. And this is only part one of two! There was another prompt as well that I will be handling in hopefully what will ****_remain_**** a mini-fic this time.**

**Prompt: "Things you said with no space between us."**

**Pairing Requested: CoLu (of course – it's our beloved OTP)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Cobra knew.

It was an absolute of his existence.

What the enemy was prepared to do. What they were going to say. Every one of their thoughts. Every memory. Their deepest fears and most secret desires. Their life.

Everything they were.

There were no mysteries from Dokuryuu no Cobra.

But this?

This he did not understand.

Cobra could not fathom why looking at the blonde, legal guild mage staring nervously at the array of his comrades filled him with… what? He didn't even know what the feeling was; he had no name for it.

It felt far too much like Erik wanted out. Erik wanted to reach for the girl whose soul was resonating with theirs. A familiar refrain of pain and loss echoed from within her frame, but so too did the rhythmic beats of strength in tune to that of her heart. Even through her fear of Oracion Seis, even through her fear of _him_, her mind calculated myriad strategies and plans based upon the scant information she possessed. Discarding and reforming layers upon layers of intricate scenarios extrapolated from her vague knowledge of her own comrades' abilities and educated guesswork.

Some of them weren't half bad, either, despite the truly poor intel she was working with.

He found it intriguing that the person she was most terrified of, however, was Midnight. Not because he had the audacity to sleep during a major confrontation, but because she noticed the carpet upon which he slumbered was floating. She, correctly, came to the conclusion that Midnight was feeding it his magic while he slept. As a holder-type mage, this filled her with vast unease. For she understood the continuous drain required would be immense; it may not seem like much at first but the steady magical consumption added up before long.

Her own magic reserves, Cobra discovered, were vast though she did not realize it herself.

Within the back of her mind, she kept alive thoughts of her recent confrontation with her father. And the not-as-recent conflict with Phantom Lord over her. Guilt suffused her whenever she thought of it, though she struggled to push past those lingering emotions to face her future now free of shackles.

Cobra still wore his.

Lucy Heartfilia was a person who followed only because that was what she was raised and taught to do. It was what she accepted as normal.

And Cobra tried not to dwell on the similarities there to his own situation.

All this had passed through her head in under twenty seconds. Brain was still monologuing.

The Poison Dragon Slayer stood dumbstruck, fighting to keep his interest and regard hidden from view. Erik, or rather the sharp-edged, shattered piece of his soul that remained of the slave boy from the Tower of Heaven, wanted nothing more than to go to the woman's side and see if they truly were as close as he feared.

Because Cobra _was_ afraid.

Erik could not be allowed out. Erik would get them all killed. Not only him, but Cubelios and the girl, too.

He was afraid of her. Not just for Erik's foolishness, but for how deeply he'd heard her at a first pass. For the strangeness inside of him that she evoked.

The Dragon Slayer pushed Erik deep down inside.

Erza Scarlet donned her requips as a defense against the world.

Dokuryuu no Cobra_ was_ the armor – all flippant, malicious will, and poison flowing through his veins. But it was armor that had been borne for so long it had seeped into his skin, and permeated his soul. It was difficult to tell, honestly, where Erik began and Cobra ended. This distinction was murky even to himself.

Especially at this moment.

For Dokuryuu no Cobra wanted to meet her too.

* * *

News, months later, trickled into the prison. Gossiping guards wandered past the cells, paying little mind to the eavesdropping inmates.

Cobra sat, his body remaining utterly still until they passed him on by.

A dragon. Salamander had been right. They really did still exist.

But because of that, Fairy Tail no longer did. The blonde he had been so fascinated with no longer did.

Cobra couldn't help but wonder, those long, empty hours in his cell, if pushing Erik away all those months ago had been a good idea.

Maybe if he hadn't, he would still have Cubelios, and a chance to meet Lucy Heartfilia.

* * *

Seven years.

When Cobra looked back at the time he'd spent, wallowing in his own misery, he was mildly ashamed of himself. What had he managed to accomplish in all those days he'd waited? Following Midnight's plan had been a mistake, he now realized. By chasing a past and the pleasant memories it contained, he'd belittled his own pain and the struggles he'd endured up to that point. And then he had forsaken the opportunity for an even better future.

He'd almost sacrificed one of the people with whom he wanted to forge that future. Out of what? Misplaced spite?

What was wrong with him? Here he was, once again in a prison cell with nothing to occupy him but his unforgiving, inescapable thoughts and memories.

Cobra was a first class moron. So was Erik, actually.

However… that would change. He was going to move forward. Then he was going to find a way to show that path to the people who'd suffered alongside of him. Sorano. Sawyer. Richard. Macbeth, most of all.

Dokuryuu no Cobra would make up for the time he'd squandered, and prove himself capable of being far greater than he was.

Although he had no idea where to start, it wasn't like he didn't have plenty of time to think on his hands.

* * *

Chaos and devastation, Cobra reflected, probably shouldn't be followed by such clear, beautiful days. The world cared little for what Cobra wanted, though. So the sky was still filled with brilliant stars, with nary a cloud in sight.

Dawn would soon be coming, but Cobra felt little need to vacate his perch upon the hilltop.

Sorano had wanted to visit the place in the wake of Tartaros, and because it had to do with strengthening her magic, Jellal had found no reason to refuse her. Crime Sorciere had been dragged as a whole to the lovely but otherwise boring hill several days ago. Once her task – a nebulous ritual the purpose of which even Cobra couldn't fully wrap his brain around – had been completed, the group had picked up and left.

Cobra had remained behind, though, for a couple of days longer than the rest. They allowed him to, with his promise of catching up when he was done. There was something about the place that spoke to him. A nostalgic scent that lingered and he needed to investigate it.

Today would be the last day he could afford to stay, however. Which was fine, for what he sought was already on its way to him.

Ringing, clear tones heralded the arrival of a Celestial Mage to Star Hill. One whose soul Cobra was intimately familiar with.

As she crested the hill, Lucy's heart and soul spiked with joy upon seeing Cobra's Crime Sorciere cloak. "Jellal!" she called, assuming it was the tattooed bluenette. Breaking into a run she approached the former criminal, only to halt in her tracks as Cobra lowered the hood.

"Not quite," he informed her, amused at her misidentification.

"C-Cobra," Lucy stuttered in shock, her hand drifting to her key pouch.

Cobra snorted at her reaction. "Yes. Why don't you put those away? If I was going to do something to you, I would have done it by now."

_'Right,' _Lucy reminded herself, '_he's a mind-reader, isn't he?'_

"Souls," he automatically corrected. After a moment's pause, he added, "You can sit down now? Or are you just going to keep standing there with your mouth hanging open, waiting for a wing-fish to fly in?"

Lucy closed her jaw with an abrupt, audible snap that would leave dentists cringing. She remained standing, her mind quickly running through multiple, simultaneous simulations and conjectures as to what Cobra wanted.

"I don't have an angle." Cobra rolled his eye at her. "Although my neck is going to be stuck at one if I have to keep looking up at you."

"Well now you know what it's like for us short people," grumbled Lucy.

Cobra couldn't help being smug. "All people are short to start with." When she struggled to provide a rebuttal, he outright grinned at her. "I guess this makes me superior in every way," he teased.

She smacked his arm hard enough to sting. Though it spoke volumes to her that he allowed it.

"I deserved that," Cobra admitted. And so much more, though he left it unsaid. After a heartbeat, he added, "I happened to be watching the sunrise. You are welcome to join me."

His invitation hung in the air between them – neither could quite believe that the words had come from Cobra, of all people. Addressed to a Fairy. Well… former Fairy.

As she hesitated, Cobra entertained the notion of knocking her off her feet, just because he could. Then he decided against it. His baser instincts did not need the kind of fuel putting himself in that close of contact with her would provide.

With a huff, Lucy plopped to the ground beside the Dragon Slayer. Cobra raised an eyebrow at her put-out expression, but did not otherwise comment.

Minutes passed in silence as the sky began to lighten significantly.

It was strange, Cobra mused, that this was the first time either of them had actually spoken to each other.

"It's weird," Lucy suddenly said, causing Cobra to glance askance at her. "I think this is the first conversation we've ever had."

A smirk pulled at his lips. "It is," he agreed, pleased that at the similar mien of their thoughts.

It was her turn to hold back a smile. "The fact that it's weird, or that we've never talked to the other before?" she asked.

"Both."

More time passed between them in silence. The stars above were beginning to vanish one by one, lights not snuffed out but merely hidden by one that shone much closer.

Lucy sneezed. Rubbing her reddening nose in embarrassment, she internally lamented the fact that early mornings were still chilly and her taste for revealing outfits. They made her feel strong inside, but they were pretty much useless against the cold.

Cobra raised an eyebrow at her when she looked at him expectantly.

"You know, gentlemen are supposed to offer their coats or something in this sort of situation," she pointed out.

He snorted at her. "Since when have I ever claimed to be one of those?"

"I don't know; this is our first conversation, remember?" Lucy bit out in annoyance. After a couple of seconds she stared at him, flabbergasted. "You're laughing! You're laughing at me!" she accused.

Indeed, Cobra's shoulders were shaking in restrained mirth. "N-No," he said, choking on the words. A moment passed. "Pfffft."

"You're totally laughing at me." Sneezing again, she rubbed her bare arms. Tank tops in the predawn was not a fantastic idea. At least she'd thought to wear leggings instead of a skirt. She blinked in surprise when the dark blue, warm fabric of Cobra's cloak was draped across her shoulders.

"I guess I could share," Cobra said, the other edge of the fabric still firmly in his possession.

Lucy flushed. "Thanks," she mumbled, shifting a little closer to the man in order to fit more securely under the cloak.

Then she caught sight of something.

"You're wearing two other jackets!" she yelled, pointing at him.

Cobra winced. "Not so loudly. My ear."

Hissing at him, Lucy jabbed Cobra in the arm with her finger. "You're wearing another coat and a jacket! And is that… is that yet more layers under that?! Yet you don't want to lend me the cloak?!"

With a quick glance down at himself, Cobra then met her gaze again. "Whoops." A second light smack to his arm was his reward. "I get cold easily!" he defended himself.

"Like a snake."

"Yes."

That gave her pause. "Is it because of the lacrima?" she wondered.

"Probably," Cobra agreed. "Either way, I'm not lending you these."

Lucy shrugged. "That's fine. This is enough." It wasn't _that_ cold out, she told herself.

Then Cobra grumbled something under his breath that Lucy didn't quite catch. Dropping his half of the cloak, he shrugged out of his furred, white coat and shoved it at her. "Just take it already," he growled. "Before I change my mind."

Needing no second prompting, Lucy swiftly donned the blessedly warm garment. Then she picked up the cloak again, wrapping her half around herself. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah," Cobra muttered, already safely ensconced in his half of the blue fabric.

Lucy continued to stare at him.

"What?"

She jolted a bit in place, having zoned out. "You…" Lucy trailed off, a million ways to finish the sentence swirling inside her head.

_You are different than before._

_You are nicer than I thought you were._

_You are still a jerk._

_You are weird._

_You haven't asked what I'm doing here._

_You haven't mentioned why you're here._

_You knew I was coming… so why did you stay?_

_You have a really nice voice._

_You are actually pleasant to talk to._

Cobra waited patiently while she sorted herself out.

"You… joined Crime Sorciere?" she finally finished, discarding all the other options.

Though he was rather intrigued by the other possibilities that had filtered through her skull, Cobra decided to leave them alone. For now. In response to what did she did manage to utter, he replied, "All of Oracion Seis did."

Surprise echoed in her soul, but that in itself wasn't exactly unexpected. "Even Brain and Zero?" Lucy remembered Natsu saying that Brain had attacked Cobra while his back was turned seven years ago, during the Nirvana conflict.

"…No." Cobra watched and listened carefully for her reaction as he spoke his next sentence. "I killed him."

Lucy's soul blanched at the thought of murder. But she fought down her initial repulsion. Tartaros and Jackal had forever changed her outlook on life. "I see."

Tension Cobra didn't realize he still held drained from him.

"So you're helping Jellal, then?" Lucy pressed on.

"Something like that," Cobra replied.

"What brings you to Star Hill? Is everyone else around here?" That last question was spoken with some nervousness, as Lucy was not especially keen to encounter Midnight.

"Sorano wanted to come here. Everyone's left already, though." Cobra's mouth twisted into a smirk. "And Macbeth's not holding a grudge over the Real Nightmare spell." His face fell. "None of us feel great about what we did to you." Carefully, he observed her. "We'd like the opportunity to make it up to you." That wasn't quite true – the only person that actively thought about it was himself. But the others wouldn't pass up the chance to redeem themselves a little bit more if it was presented to them.

A rueful smile touched Lucy's lips, and her gaze turned out towards the ascending sun. There was a hollowness there that Cobra didn't like. "It's okay," she whispered.

Anger pulled Cobra's face into a scowl. "It's not," he hissed. Then he pulled back and gave her an appraising glance. "What's going on with you? This isn't the person I remember from seven years ago. Or even from seven months ago. _She_ was hurting on the inside then, too, but she was a fighter. She wasn't this meek."

Lucy gulped. "I guess I finally realized that not everything turns out alright." Her hand drifted to a pouch kept separate from the rest of her keys. Within, her fingertips touched the fragments of Aquarius' key. "Even when you give it your all, and you fight until there's nothing left… it's not anywhere near enough and the world still burns." Friends had to be sacrificed. And her family broke apart, scattering to the corners of the globe.

The scent of salt reached Cobra's nose, and his eye widened as he realized she was now crying. He hadn't meant to do that. Hesitantly, he reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder. When she glanced up at him, he murmured, "I'm sorry for your loss." And he was. He understood that feeling – the fear that the people dear to you were gone forever. One of hers already was, and she carried the broken memento around with her wherever she went – in a special pouch all its own.

His sincerity must have communicated itself to her, for she smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you." Then Lucy's face broke out into a true grin. "I seem to be thanking you a lot today. This feels really odd!"

"Yeah, it's definitely weird. Stop doing it now," Cobra commanded. It made those strange feelings from seven years ago rise to the surface, which made him very uncomfortable. He still didn't understand them – for they were a confusing maelstrom set to drown him should his concentration slip.0

He frowned as she started to giggle. "Hey!"

"It's only fair!" Lucy protested. "You laughed at me earlier!"

Cobra allowed his hand to drop from her shoulder, ignoring the way in which it itched to return to her. "Ah, but I _didn't_ laugh. Remember?"

"You were laughing!"

"I admitted to no such thing."

Lucy giggled, and then burst out into full blown laughter herself.

Cobra found that he really liked the way it sounded, both aloud and reflected within her soul.

When her mirth had finally died down (Cobra felt no small amount of disappointment at that), Lucy grinned up him.

He thought it was more dazzling than the sun rising before them, the golden rays glinting off her hair and eyelashes.

"I came here," Lucy stated, snapping Cobra out of his mini-trance, "to train, actually. This place holds some good memories for me. It's where Natsu, Happy, Yukino and I summoned all the zodiac spirits and Ophiuchus in order to do something nice for them." The blonde nearly choked upon her teammates' names, but she pressed onward. "We had a lot of fun that day."

Cobra blinked as her thoughts and memories of the day washed over him. "It sounds like it." There was a white-haired woman there, a Celestial Mage. She looked a lot like…

Oh wait until he told Sorano. She was going to completely lose her shit. There was no way that other mage wasn't related to her. After all… how many other white haired Celestial Mages were out there that shared the same unhealthy love of feathers?

Which reminded him. Cobra was going to have to leave soon if he wanted to catch up to the rest of Crime Sorciere. Soul quailing at the prospect of leaving the blonde, Cobra shoved those feelings deep inside of him, much as he once had Erik. That hadn't ended well for him back then, but he had a job to do – he had to make the world safe from the Zeref cults that turned children like Erik into Cobra. So that guilds like Tartaros would never arise to threaten the lives of people like Lucy ever again.

Lucy seemed to sense the sudden change in him. "You have to leave, don't you?"

Glancing away, he muttered, "Sorry."

"Don't be," she stated firmly. "I'm just happy you stayed as long as you did." Lucy's smile was a twisted, wry thing with no levity. "I thought you hated me, actually."

Cobra let out a frustrated, close-mouthed exhalation. "I don't hate you," he told her. "I didn't seven years ago. I didn't seven months ago. And not now." With a pause, he regarded her with open interest. "Seven years ago, I was an arrogant little piece of shit who didn't want to deal with the things I heard from your soul. So I just ignored them, and my own feelings towards them and you. Seven months ago I… I don't know what to say. No excuse I could give would be adequate, but the truth is that I'd given up on everything, even myself. And I still didn't want to deal with… whatever this is. I still don't know the name for it. But's it's not hate."

Then he reached out and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. His hand lingered a little longer than strictly necessary, brushing against her cheek. "Yes… definitely not hate."

Virulent crimson spread throughout Lucy's face as his hand withdrew and she processed what he'd said. She attempted to bury and hide her overheating face within the fuzzy collar of Cobra's borrowed coat.

Cobra observed her with amusement. "You can't hide in there forever," he remarked. "I'm going to need that back."

Lucy squeaked and sunk lower into the garment.

Rolling his indigo eye, Cobra gave up the coat for lost. "Fine – you can keep it. It feels a little strange wearing an overcoat under a cloak anyway. …And yes, I will actually need _that_ back. Jellal will tan my hide and then return it to me as a new cloak if I show up without this one."

Embarrassed as much by her reaction to Cobra's statement as the statement itself, Lucy handed over the dark blue cloak without any more fuss.

Wrapped it around himself, Cobra snapped it in place and stood. With a stretch, he tried to work out any stiff muscles from sitting on the cool, hard ground for such an extended period of time. Then he reached down to offer Lucy a hand up as well.

Haltingly, she took it. Once she was on her feet, her legs wobbled and threatened to give way under her. Cobra's free hand shot out and gently held her by the shoulder until feeling returned to her limbs after a moment. Then he released her and took a step back.

Awkward, they stood there facing each other. Cobra felt a little out of sorts from his confession, and Lucy wasn't entirely certain what to do with the knowledge that her former enemy cared about her.

"Take care, then," Cobra said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Lucy called, reaching out and snagging his cloak to prevent him from departing just yet. When he glanced at her curiously, she grabbed his large, tanned hand and placed it within her own. "We've never actually introduced ourselves to each other properly," she babbled, aware that she was stalling because she didn't quite want him to leave just yet.

Cobra raised an eyebrow at her. "Seems a bit superfluous, don't you think?" Though he wouldn't complain about her hand in his own. He rather liked the feel of it there.

Lucy shook her head with great vehemence. "Everything before… it doesn't count. I want to formally introduce myself to you, because we're not meeting as adversaries this time, or any time going forward. We're meeting as friends."

Comprehension dawned on Cobra. "I see. Well, since it's your idea, you go first."

"Eh?" she uttered, looking at him in bewilderment.

"Did I stutter?"

"No!" she gushed, chagrin again rushing through her. She shook his hand up and down a couple of times, feeling a little strange in doing so. "I am Lucy of F-." Lucy froze, unable to complete the sentence all of a sudden.

After a moment of watching her internally battle herself, Cobra gently squeezed her hand, to remind her that he was still there. It was also the only comfort he could give.

Her eyes cleared of their conflict, and Lucy met his gaze with the fierce determination he remembered well in her. "I am Lucy of Fairy Tail," she stated. "Currently a freelance reporter for Sorcerer Weekly. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cobra lightly shook her hand – proud of her. "Erik," he told her, surprising himself with his choice, "of Crime Sorciere." He offered no other name to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy."

She smiled at him again, her face suffused with warmth. "Erik," she said, finally letting go of his hand. "I like your name."

His lips twitched upward in a restrained smirk. "Thank you."

It felt like the distance between them that Erik and Cobra alike had felt so long ago between themselves and this woman had finally closed.

"Um… Erik," Lucy said, shifting awkwardly. "I-"

"I don't need an answer," he replied. "I'm still trying to figure this out. Forget what I said if it bothers you."

Lucy bit her lip. "It doesn't. Bother me, that is." She wrapped her arms around herself. "When… when you figure it out, come and find me. We can talk then."

His soft smile in response to her statement took her breath away. "I'll do that then."

"Take care, Erik," she called out, as he turned to leave.

"You, too, Lucy."

* * *

**That's the end of the first part. Let me know what you guys think!**


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